Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence. | Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Several teams will hope to find their franchise quarterbacks Thursday night in Cleveland.
The first 32 picks in the 2021 NFL Draft will go off the board tonight as the first round is held in Cleveland. The action starts at 7 p.m. CT with television coverage on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network.
The Jaguars opened the night with the first overall pick, which they used on Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who’s widely considered the best QB prospect in years. The Jets followed that up by taking BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, as expected, with the second overall pick.
The real mystery started with the third overall pick and the 49ers, who took North Dakota State’s Trey Lance after trading up earlier in the offseason. The Falcons and Bengals round out the top five this year.
The Bears will hit the clock with the 20th overall pick unless they decide to make a trade.
The results of the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft are below. This story will be updated with each pick.
2021 NFL Draft results
Jaguars — QB Trevor Lawrence, Clemson
Jets — QB Zach Wilson, BYU
49ers (from MIA via HOU) — QB Trey Lance, North Dakota State
Illinois received more money from the Volkswagen emissions scandal legal settlement than any other Midwest state. | Gene J. Puskar, AP Photos
Environmental groups praise new focus on electric vehicles after governor proposes spending almost $90 million windfall after automaker’s emissions scandal.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is proposing to spend nearly $90 million from a legal settlement over the Volkswagen emission scandal to pay for more electric vehicles and infrastructure — largely by converting more public transit and school buses — in Chicago and elsewhere.
Pritzker’s environmental agency rewrote a state plan that was originally put together by former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s Administration. Influenced by industry, Rauner favored awarding state grants to replace old diesel-engine trains, boats and other equipment with newer ones — that were also diesel-fueled. That proposal infuriated environmental organizations.
Pritzker’s revised plan drew praise from those same groups that noted electric vehicles are the best way to cut down on air pollution, improve health and fight climate change.
“There are huge opportunities here that are new and exciting and can benefit public health,” Susan Mudd, a lawyer and senior policy advocate for the Environmental Law and Policy Center said.
The state originally won about $109 million from Volkswagen as part of a legal settlement over the carmaker’s emissions cheating scandal discovered by U.S. officials in 2015. Volkswagen was caught having installed software in diesel-fuel cars that helped fool air emissions tests, which meant the vehicles were polluting far more than advertised. That led to actions ending in billions of dollars of fines and civil settlements, including money for individual states to help reduce air pollution. Because Illinois residents had purchased so many of the cars in question, it had the largest haul in settlement money in the Midwest.
The money prioritizes the Chicago area and the Illinois side of the St. Louis metropolitan area because of the heavy air pollution around those communities. Money will be distributed based on applications from those and other areas.
Under the Pritzker proposal, up to 45% of the remaining money ($88.6 million) will fund all-electric public transportation, up to 38% will go toward electric school buses and 15% will go to light-duty electric charging infrastructure. The remaining 2% pays for administrative costs.
In a statement, Pritzker called it a “critical step forward in protecting our environment and building a greener transportation sector.”
The state is accepting public comment on the proposal through June 21. It will send a final report to a national trustee that approves spending plans for the Volkswagen settlement. With a newly published draft report, Pritzker is sending a signal that electric vehicles are going to be a big part of the environmental and public health agenda for the state going forward, advocates said.
“This has been a drumbeat for at least four years,” said Brian Urbaszewski, director of environmental health programs at the Respiratory Health Association. “ You need to prioritize and get zero-emission vehicles with the limited amount of money we have.”
He noted that multiple clean energy bills introduced in Springfield this legislative session and President Joe Biden’s climate agenda all emphasize electrification of vehicles.
“Most clean energy bills recognize we need to accelerate this,” Urbaszewski said.
Brett Chase’s reporting on the environment and public health is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – NOVEMBER 29: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers drops back to pass during a game against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field on November 29, 2020 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Bears 45-21. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Laddies and gentleman the time has now come, a chance for the Chicago Bears to crush the Green Bay Packer faithful. Since 2005 it’s no surprise that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers have had their way in the NFC North. In 15 seasons with the Pack, Rodgers has made the playoffs a familiar place to play.
The ChicagoBears would love to see Aaron Rodgers leave the Green Bay Packers.
In his 20 playoff starts, Rodgers is only 11-9 but his personal statistics will wow you. He has completed 64.1% of his passes in the postseason as well as 45 touchdown passes to only 13 interceptions.
Rodgers has also had his way with the Bears in his career. In his 26 career games against the Bears, he is 21-5, completing almost 67% of his passes for a total of just over 6,000 yards. If it hasn’t been hard enough to read these ridiculous stats, he’s thrown the ball in the end zone vs the Bears a total of 55 times.
By now you’re probably asking yourself why must the author torture me this way? Here’s the good news, everything you just read may be coming to an end. We may live in a world where Aaron Rodgers is no longer in the NFC North division or maybe even a world where Rodgers wears blue and orange on Sundays.
After a recent report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, it has become apparent that Rodgers has grown an extensive amount of frustration pertaining to his contract and that his plans to stay with Green Bay have come to an end. As a Packer fan, that might be a pretty tough pill to swallow. For the Bears fans, however, it sounds like a whole lot of smiles, laughs, and even opportunity.
Reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers is so disgruntled with the Green Bay Packers that he has told some within the organization that he does not want to return to the team, league and team sources told ESPN on Thursday.
Trading within the division is usually a tough task to fulfill. Trading with NFC North rivals may even be harder. While the Packers and Bears could make an argument for the league’s most anticipated rivalry, it becomes very hard for Bear fans to get excited knowing they are the lesser of two teams.
Quarterback play has been a real issue for the Bears for as far as I can remember. Names that make up a list that include below-average quarterbacks like Erik Kramer, Cade McNown, Jim Miller, Craig Krenzel, Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman, Matt Barkley, Mike Glennon, Mitchell Trubisky, Nick Foles, and now Andy Dalton.
So what can the Chicago Bears do to land a Super Bowl champion clutch time gunslinger like Aaron Rodgers? They will have to offer a huge amount of picks and players to the Green Bay Packer’s front office. Here’s a Chicago Bears trade package I have put together that I think would secure the MVP.
Bears Get
Aaron Rodgers
Packers Get
2021 First-Round Pick
2021 Second-Round Pick
Khalil Mack
Akiem Hicks
The Bears would need to trade the 20th pick. Green Bay could then take that 20th pick to fulfill their most needed position of cornerback by drafting Greg Newsome out of Northwestern. The Packers could also then use their 29th pick to grab an offensive lineman. Dillon Radunz, out of North Dakota State, could be that guy.
The Bears also would then trade Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks which would fill the Green Bay void on the defensive line. Pace could sell the Pack on Hicks lining up next to Pro Bowler Kenny Clark in place of Dean Lowry or Tyler Lancaster which would be a huge upgrade for Green Bay.
While Hicks is a difference-maker, I think the Bears can dump him and fill his void with guys like Eddie Goldman and Bilal Nichols who is a great player. Green Bay adding another second-round pick in the deal wouldn’t hurt either.
While it sounds like a lot giving up a 1st and 2nd round pick, potentially the league’s best edge rusher and a dominant interior D-line presence, it’s going to take every bit of that for the Bears to pry one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time out of the hands the Green Bay Packers. Only time will tell where Rodgers will land but at this point, it doesn’t appear the All-Pro will be dressed in green and gold at the start of the 2021 season.
Darius Rucker speaks at last week’s Academy of Country Music Awards.. | Mark Humphrey/AP
Canceled in 2020, the music and barbecue festival returns and adds a fourth night headlined by Brett Eldredge.
Country music superstars Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley and Jon Pardi, who were booked to play at the 2020 Windy City Smokeout until it was extinguished by COVID-19 concerns, are set to take the stage at this summer’s fest.
The music and barbecue extravaganza is scheduled to return July 8-11 outside the United Center, 1901 W. Madison St. At Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Thursday morning announcement of looser pandemic restrictions, she cited the Windy City Smokeout as one of the events soon to be feasible in Chicago.
This year the festival grows by a day, and headlining the new fourth night will be hitmaker Brett Eldredge, who recorded his most recent album, “Sunday Drive,” at Chicago’s Shirk Studios.
As the music plays, pit masters from Chicago and around the country will cook their specialties for sale along with a selection of craft beers.
As part of the Smokeout’s comprehensive safety plan, ticket holders will need to show proof of a vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test, and complete a daily symptom survey. Masks will be required for entry.
Daily passes range from $35 to $200, with four-day passes available from $125 to $625, and are on sale now at windycitysmokeout.com.
The ChicagoBears are in a tough spot. They decided not to fire Ryan Pace or Matt Nagy after the disaster that was the 2020 season. Things haven’t been good at all since they went 12-4 in 2018. It is clear that they have some big needs but one need is more glaring than anything […]
The boy was 15 at the time of the attack in the 1200 block of North Orchard Road
A 16-year-old boy and a man are facing charges in an Aurora shooting and carjacking that left a woman paralyzed.
Kimberly Weibring, 46, was eating in her car in the Wendy’s parking lot in the 1200 block of North Orchard Road about 4 p.m. on Jan. 16 when at least two people pulled up in a Ford Escape, Aurora police said.
The pair pulled Weibring out of her red 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe, shot her in the back and drove off in her car, police said.
Aurora police and the FBI located the car on Jan. 20 in Harvey and found bullet holes in and outside the car, according to police. Weibring is paralyzed from the waist down, officials have said.
Police arrested Edward James McGee, 26, and the teenage boy this week. Both are charged with felony aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated vehicular hijacking, armed violence, and two counts possession of a stolen vehicle.
The boy is also charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, officials said.
The boy, who was 15 at the time of the carjacking, was not named because he is charged as a juvenile.
A new Chicago inspector general report says former contact tracers had access to patient information after leaving their jobs. | Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times file
Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson finds lapse in privacy policy, though city officials found there was no unauthorized access of information.
More than a quarter of the city’s COVID-19 contact tracers who left their jobs as of early this year still had access to patient data for at least a month after their termination, an investigation from the city’s watchdog found.
Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s office investigated Chicago’s contact tracing program, which is run by an organization under contract with the city, and found the Chicago Department of Public Health “did not consistently remove terminated users’ access” to a system of tracking COVID-19 patients within seven days, which is a standard.
Of the almost 600 contact tracers hired last year, the report found 50 of those workers had been fired or resigned as of Feb. 15, 2021. While all of the departing workers should have had their access to a system with patient data cut off within 7 days, only 11 had the ability removed. A month later, more than a quarter of those contact tracers were still able to look at patient information, though city officials showed investigators that no ex-employees tried to access records.
COVID-19 contact tracing, which involves interviewing people who test positive for the virus along with anyone they might have infected, is considered an important tool in fighting the pandemic. While the report found that the city’s tracing program, run by Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership and more than 30 community organizations, largely did a good job of protecting privacy and reducing cybersecurity risks, it said some oversight practices can be improved.
“Contact tracing will continue to play an integral part in tackling the current pandemic by helping to address and manage cases,” Ferguson said in a statement. “As part of its overall and ongoing work to protect communities from both disease transmission and cybersecurity risks, we encourage [the city] to continue to implement and update security needs as they develop.”
According to the health department’s response, included in the report, the city agreed to strengthen its oversight of the contact tracing system access and “will incorporate employment status reviews into its weekly check-ins with the community-based organizations that are in the corps. This will help ensure [the city] is notified when an employee has left the corps and enable the prompt termination of the employee’s access to the system.”
In a statement to the Sun-Times, health department officials said they “designed the system to have consistent monitoring over who logs in and what they do with information. Because of this, no unauthorized access has occurred in the system, contact tracers are well trained, and people who talk to contact tracers receive life-saving advice and counsel to help stop COVID.”
Regarding the recommended changes to ensure more protections, “we agree and have already implemented several of these extra-layer protective procedures,” the statement said.
Contact tracers have described challenges getting people to talk to them about their exposure to the coronavirus, and the city program got off to a slow start.
In May 2020, the city issued a $56 million request for proposals to bolster its contact tracing. More than 30 community groups were picked by the workforce partnership group to train the trackers.
The city should also inform COVID-19 patients and contacts how long the city will retain their data, the report said.
Brett Chase’s reporting on the environment and public health is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.
Former Ald. Ricardo Munoz was charged in a federal indictment Thursday, federal authorities announced. | Sun-Times file photo
Federal prosecutors say that, while serving as the 22nd Ward alderman, Munoz used money from a PAC formed by the Chicago Progressive Reform Caucus on a relative’s tuition and on other expenses, including jewelry, clothing, cellphones, vacations, sports tickets and airline tickets.
Former Ald. Ricardo Munoz has been accused in a federal fraud indictment of using money from a political action committee to pay personal expenses, including a relative’s college tuition.
Munoz, 56, is charged with 15 counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. His arraignment has not been scheduled.
Federal prosecutors say that, while serving as the 22nd Ward alderman, Munoz used money from a PAC formed by the Chicago Progressive Reform Caucus on the relative’s tuition and on other expenses, including jewelry, clothing, cellphones, vacations, sports tickets and airline tickets.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Chicago’s most important news of the day, delivered every weekday afternoon. Plus, a bonus issue on Saturdays that dives into the city’s storied history.
This afternoon will be partly sunny with a high near 65 degrees. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms and a low around 48. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high near 59.
With two million vaccine doses administered and health metrics improving, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is reopening Chicago a little bit more — this time to let restaurants and theaters serve more patrons and allow fans inside the United Center for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
“It’s time for the Pier and the city to be open,” Lightfoot said during a celebratory news conference at Navy Pier.
“I’m thrilled to announce that we are able to broadly loosen capacity restrictions across industries starting today, which allows us to welcome back fans to the United Center, reopen Navy Pier and our lakefront beaches, bring back the Windy City Smokeout, our iconic country music and barbecue festival, as well as a number of summer street festivals.”
On the eve of Navy Pier’s phased reopening, President and CEO Marilynn Gardner added, “Welcome to Navy Pier. I can’t tell you how great it feels to finally say those words…After eight long months, we’re thrilled to open our doors and welcome guests back to the peoples’ pier.”
The new Phase Four rules, effective immediately, allow the Bulls and Blackhawks to close their seasons before roughly 5,250 fans per game — 25% of the United Center’s capacity.
An outbreak of coronavirus that led to 23 cases and one death was linked to a luncheon at Midwest Warehouse on Diehl Road in Naperville, according to a federal investigation. The Woodridge-based company faces a fine of $12,288.
Charlie Yook has overseen NFL Network’s draft production since 2014, but he has been a Bears fan for much longer.
At the 2017 NFL Draft in Philadelphia, Yook was watching the proceedings from where he always does, in the production truck. The Bears had traded with the 49ers to move up from the third overall pick to the second. Yook wondered aloud what general manager Ryan Pace was doing, but he tempered his consternation, saying, “As long as it’s not Mitch Trubisky, I’ll be fine.”
A perk of working behind the scenes is knowing teams’ selections before they’re announced. The production crew sets up the graphics and videos for each player to present to the audience. So when the producer sitting in front of Yook learned the Bears’ pick, he uttered, “Uh, oh,” turned around and said, “The pick is in. You’re not gonna like it.
“Mitch Trubisky, quarterback, North Carolina.”
Yook whipped down his headset and broke a monitor.
Rich Eisen (from left), David Shaw, Charles Davis and Daniel Jeremiah are on the set Wednesday in Cleveland ahead of the NFL Draft. Alika Jenner/NFL
Yook, who graduated from Glenbrook South in 1992, was always a sports nut, but he didn’t develop an interest in TV production until he attended Miami University. As a journalism major, he took a class senior year that gave him hands-on experience in a TV newsroom. Every student performed every job – producer, director, camera, anchor, etc. – and he was hooked.
“We all have that moment we realize, OK, this is something real,” Yook said. “That completely solidified what I wanted to do the rest of my life.”
The White Sox will be without a key piece of their bullpen after lefty Garrett Crochet landed on the 10-day injured list today. The team also activated Luis Robert, who will be ready to play in the second game of tonight’s doubleheader against the Tigers.
Your daily question ?
What would you like to see the Bears do with their first-round pick tonight?
Email us (please include your first name and where you live) and we might include your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
Yesterday, we asked you:How do you feel about Chicago’s planned “Vax Pass” system to limit admission to select concerts based on vaccination status? Here’s what some of you said…
“I am a big fan. I would love to participate in big concerts with a crowd of people and be comfortable knowing they were all vaccinated like me. Those that choose to not get vaccinated will have to face the consequences of their decision.” — Carole Delahunty
“Just let people live their lives finally! I am vaccinated but would gladly go to a concert where others aren’t. If you’re worried– don’t go or be smart. That simple.” — Makenzie Reigh Thompson
“I think the city is making a wise decision. We are adults and have the ability to make decisions and the brain to understand the consequences of our decisions. If you chose not to get a vaccine, great, but there are consequences.” — Melissa Voss Edwards
“I’m good with it. Vaccinated people deserve to be able to do things again. If you don’t want to be vaccinated I understand, it’s your choice. But people deserve to know who is least likely to be harboring the disease. It’s good public health.” — Heather Burkhalter
“Another idea in which the city will lose revenue! Folks aren’t gonna be forced to get a vaccine they don’t want. They will see the concerts in a neighboring state!” — Lydia Mojzis O’Grady
“Great idea! If people choose not to do something for the common good then the onus is on them.” — Al Kabelis
“So now we are being forced to take a vaccine in order to enjoy our city? Hmmm I see…This will backfire!” — Sata Triplett
Thanks for reading the Chicago Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.
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